A blog dedicated to coverage of rock news, reviews of CD's/DVD's, live gigs and interviews with musicians who have made rock music great!
Coverage of hard rock, classic rock, AOR and popular melodic rock music across the genre.
This blog is the creation of Alun Williams, a Brit now living in Michigan whose previous credits include writing for the following sites:
www.classicrock.about.com
www.classicrockrevisited.com
and www.rocknrolluniverse.com (Now gone)
I hope you enjoy your visit here!

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Friday, March 4, 2011

Rock News Update for Friday 4th March, 2011

THIN LIZZY SET TO ROCK THE USA WITH TOUR DATES AND ROCKLINE APPEARANCE

Due to a multitude of classic tunes ("The Boys Are Back in Town," "Jailbreak," "Waiting for an Alibi," etc.) and albums ('Jailbreak,' 'Live and Dangerous,' 'Black Rose,' etc.), Thin Lizzy is undoubtedly one of rock's all-time great bands. And with arguably the band's strongest line-up since the days that the late/great Phil Lynott served as their front man, Thin Lizzy are set to take the USA by storm with upcoming tour dates in late March and early April.

The trek will include stops in Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Toronto, Detroit, and Chicago, and will also include a live appearance on the popular radio show, Rockline, on March 23rd, which will run from 11:30 pm to 1:00 am EST. Thin Lizzy's current line-up includes such 'Lynott era' Lizzy veterans as Scott Gorham (guitar), Brian Downey (drums), and Darren Wharton (keyboards), as well as singer/guitarist Ricky Warwick, bassist Marco Mendoza, and Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell.

Thin Lizzy became one of rock's top bands during the 1970's, on the strength of Lynott's poetic yet tough lyrics, and the highly influential dual guitar attack of Gorham and which ever second guitarist he was paired up with at the time (Brian Robertson, the late Gary Moore, Snowy White or John Sykes). Lizzy split up in 1983, before Lynott passed away in 1986. But with Lizzy being either consistently name checked as an influence or having their songs covered by other bands, the group's stature has remained at the forefront of rock over the years. And now, US fans will be able to experience the Lizzy legend once more on the concert stage.

(New York, NY) - Whitesnake's brand new album FOREVERMORE, due out via Frontiers Records on March 29th in North America, is set for release in four different configurations. FOREVERMORE will be available as:

- a single CD

- a CD+DVD combo: the DVD features the "Love Will Set You Free" video, the making of "Love Will Set You Free" video, as well as a behind-the-scenes documentary on the recording of FOREVERMORE; the CD includes three bonus tracks: "Love Will Set You Free" (alt mix), "My Evil Ways" (alt mix with drum solo) and "Forevermore" (acoustic version)

- a double-LP vinyl edition

- a special edition box set which includes the CD, DVD, LPs, as well as a cover litho, a poster and a logo sticker.

The digital album is available for pre-order now via http://www.whitesnake.com/ and includes an instant track download of "Love Will Set You Free." Pre-order of the album is also available at all digital stores now, with Amazon digital stores offering "My Evil Ways" (alt Mix with Drum Solo) as a bonus track; while the iTunes LP edition features the "Love Will Set You Free" (alt mix) and "Forevermore" (acoustic version) as bonus tracks.

The first single from FOREVERMORE,"Love Will Set You Free," has been heating up at radio with serious spins at stations such as WDHA/New Jersey, KGGO/Des Moines, KDKB/Phoenix, WWHG/Madison, WONE/Akron, WLUP/Chicago, KSHE/St. Louis, WAXQ/New York and more. Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale will be the featured guest on the nationally syndicated radio show Rockline with host Bob Coburn on Wednesday March 9th at 8:30PM, PT/11:30PM, ET as part of the ongoing series "Notes on Music" and then again on Wednesday, March 30th at 8:30PM, PT/11:30PM, ET for the new album, FOREVERMORE. For a station near you and for information regarding how to log onto the Internet for the broadcast go to http://www.rocklineradio.com/
Each show will be streamed on the Rockline website for two weeks beginning the afternoon after their broadcast.

The corresponding video for "Love Will Set You Free", which can be seen here on VEVO - (Link) - has received upwards of 230,000 views in its first two weeks. Directed by Devin DeHaven/Fortress Entertainment (Papa Roach, Method Man, Talib Kweli), the video was shot in Lake Tahoe, NV. "Love Will Set You Free" is now available for purchase at all digital service providers - click here to purchase the single and click here to purchase the video on iTunes.

In other Whitesnake news, select US tour dates have been announced including headlining the M3 Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD on Saturday, May 14th and an appearance at the Rocklahoma Festival in Pryor, OK on Friday, May 27th. Please see below for the itinerary with more tour dates to be announced shortly.

FOREVERMORE finds founder/singer/songwriter David Coverdale and company returning to their no-holds-barred, bluesiest, sexiest rock n' roll roots. This will be Whitesnake's 11th album and the first release via Frontiers Records. FOREVERMORE was recorded, produced and mixed by Los Bros Brutalos (Coverdale, Doug Aldrich and Michael McIntyre). Whitesnake is David Coverdale (vocals), Doug Aldrich (guitars), Reb Beach (guitars), Michael Devin (bass) and Briian Tichy (drums).

Formed in 1977, and steered by the legendary David Coverdale, Whitesnake carry a rightful reputation as one of the world's leading rock n' roll bands. Coverdale's blues roots, combined with a feral sense of rockin' and rollin', have consistently shaped the 'Snake's sound along with Coverdale's love and appreciation of impeccable musicianship. Whitesnake's ascent to the very top of the rock n' roll heap was confirmed with 1987's self-titled mega-platinum album, which saw two massive Top 10 hits, two #1 singles with "Here I Go Again"and "Is This Love" and a virtual 24-hour domination of MTV around the world.

PRESS RELEASE - Def Leppard, Great Britain's premier arena rock band, have announced the release of their first-ever live album "MIRRORBALL", out this summer. The live album was recorded across the world over the course of many of the band's sold-out dates. Mirrorball will feature all of the classic songs that have made Def Leppard one of the most respected and beloved power rock bands in the world. The release captures the group's legendary concert experience at its thunderous best, bringing together live versions of classic Leppard hits such as "POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME", "ROCK OF AGES", "FOOLIN'", "HYSTERIA", "PHOTOGRAPH" and an incredible rendition of "BRINGIN' ON THE HEARTBREAK".
With their creative juices at full flow, the band has also added three new studio tracks: "UNDEFEATED", "IT'S ALL ABOUT BELIEVIN'" and "KINGS OF THE WORLD", that are undeniably Def Leppard. "MIRRORBALL" follows the band's 2008 studio release, "SONGS FROM THE SPARKLE LOUNGE", which debuted at #5 on the Billboard Top 200, marking the group's highest chart position since 1992's "ADRENALIZE".
In addition to the album, Chronicle Books will be releasing "DEF LEPPARD: THE DEFINITIVE VISUAL HISTORY", featuring photos of the band by legendary rock photographer Ross Halfin. His fully authorized visual history of the band follows them from the new wave of British heavy metal to their massive "PYROMANIA" and "HYSTERIA" albums to the sustained power of their records and tours today. The book will be available this June.
Last month, Def Leppard announced their triumphant return to US stages with a summer tour kicking off on June 15 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Twenty additional shows have been confirmed for the Live Nation produced tour and are set to go on sale beginning March 11th at http://www.ticketmaster.com/ and http://www.livenation.com/ (for a list of dates please see below). Joining Def Leppard for this highly anticipated tour are Seattle rock legends Heart.

Legendary rockers Motley Crue will tour South America in May 2011 with support act Buckcherry

Dallas, TX, March, 2011 - (PR.com) - Motley Crue has confirmed that it will tour South America in May 2011 with supporting act Buckcherry as part of its 30th Anniversary world tour.
The trek includes stops in Sao Paulo, Brazil, a 2 night stand in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Motley Crue's first ever performance in Santiago de Chile. The tour's promoter Gabe Reed commented, "we are very excited to bring Motley Crue to South America this year. They are a legendary band that all South American rock fans are excited to experience for the 1st time ever."

On July 8th, 2011, a truly unique evening of Rock’n’Roll takes place at the Royal Albert Hall.
Music legends Rick Wakeman, Jon Lord, Joe Bonamassa, Newton Faulkner and Deep Purple will perform on stage to raise money for The Sunflower Jam.

Set up in 2006 by Jacky Paice, The SFJ is a charity which works with forward-thinking doctors and practitioners to offer comprehensive integrated medical treatment to patients most in need.

With guest performances by the likes of Status Quo, Paul Weller, Robert Plant, Ray Cooper, Bruce Dickinson, Suggs, the late great Gary Moore and Jeremy Ironsas MC in previous years, Super Jam 2011 will be the biggest event to date and will help to increase the already raised funds from past events.

Jon Lord formerly of Deep Purple, one of many active supporters of the charity said:“The Sunflower Jam has become an established event for two reasons: because its such a great cause and because it’s such huge fun!”

The new series of the very entertaining rock and metal show, appropriately titled, 'That Metal Show,' broadcast through VH1 Classic, will kick off on Saturday March 19th.
The show is fronted by main man Eddie Trunk, a huge human encyclopedia of rock 'n' roll knowledge, ably assisted by his humourous 'sidekicks,' Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson, both metal heads in the true sense of the expression, to the extreme!